Pentagon bans Obama from visiting injured soldiers

A visit to a United States military base in Germany on Friday morning was cancelled, stirring trans-Atlantic criticism from his rivals about Mr. Obama's decision to take a pass on an opportunity to see troops at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. But some aides to Mr. Obama said the Pentagon suggested the campaign should scrap the stop because it could be viewed as a campaign event.
"Senator Obama had hoped to and had every intention of visiting our troops to express his appreciation and gratitude for their service to our country," said Scott Gration, a retired two-star Air Force general who advises the campaign and is traveling on the Obama trip. "Senator Obama did not want to have a trip to see our wounded warriors perceived as a campaign event when his visit was to show his appreciation for our troops and decided instead not to go."

The decision left a curious gap in Mr. Obama's schedule, and aides spent the better part of a day trying to explain the canceled visit that was first reported here by Spiegel Online, the Web publication of Der Spiegel.
Brian Rogers, a spokesman for the McCain campaign, criticized the move.
"Barack Obama is wrong," Mr. Rogers said in a statement. "It is never 'inappropriate' to visit our men and women in the military."
Aides to Mr. Obama were quick to point out that when Mr. Obama toured Iraq earlier this week as part of Congressional delegation to the region, he spent time visiting troops at a combat support hospital in Baghdad's Green Zone.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/25/obama-skips-visit-with-troops/
I've just gotten clarification from the Pentagon on what really happened with regard to Barack Obama's canceled visit to an Army base in Germany, something the McCain campaign has been using to hit Obama since yesterday.

A Pentagon spokesperson confirms to me that because of longstanding Department of Defense regulations, Pentagon officials told Obama aides that he couldn't visit the base with campaign staff. This left Obama with little choice but to cancel the trip, since the plan to visit with campaign aides had been in the works for weeks.

The Obama campaign yesterday announced that it had decided to cancel the visit to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, saying that it would be "inappropriate" to make such a visit as part of a campaign trip.

The McCain camp has nonetheless been using Obama's canceled trip to insinuate that he's anti-troops. "Barack Obama is wrong," McCain spokesperson Brian Rogers said in a statement yesterday. "It is never 'inappropriate' to visit our men and women in the military."

But it turns out that the Pentagon did in fact tell Obama that in this case, it was not only "inappropriate," but against DOD rules, for him to conduct the visit with campaign staff.

"We have longstanding Department of Defense policy in regards to political campaigns and elections," Pentagon spokesperson Elizabeth Hibner told me. "We informed the Obama staff that he was more than welcome to visit as Senator Obama, with Senate staff. However, he could not conduct the visit with campaign staff."

After being told this, the Obama campaign announced yesterday that it had decided it was "inappropriate" to make the visit as part of a campaign trip.

It's unclear how Obama could have made the visit at all, given the Pentagon's directives. No Senate staff was on the trip, and the Obama camp says they received the Pentagon's directives on Wednesday, after they were already abroad.

Bottom line: We're not seeing any issue here at all.


Late Update: In fairness, the Obama campaign's first statement should have been clearer about what happened, but the larger point is that the McCain campaign criticism appears unfounded.
http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/07/pentagon_confirms_tha...

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[walrus108]

He wasn't banned from visiting, just in bringing the press and cameras!

Big difference.

[speed220mph]

They didn't ban Obama, just his delegation, aka, the press corps.

[johnnycmajor]

@SupportAlexJones McCain and O B O M B M A are both baby killers, McCain is just nuts and very dangerous , O B O M B M A is both and more.

[darkwarriorkane]

@SupportAlexJones so you want to toss shit at him and he's the monkey? I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and guess alabama?

[bohemianwriter1]

@Darkrunner1975 '

I'd rather have Obama visiting me than the sellout McCain.

Oh! They're BOTH sellouts!

They're politicians!!

[SupportAlexJones]

OBAMA IS A COMMIE BASTARD WHO SHOULD BE SPIT UPON AND THROW SHIT AT HIM... HE IS A MONKEY A STINKY APE HIS LANGUAGE IS OOO OOO AHHH AHHH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA STUPID APE

[Darkrunner1975]

Obermann is an asshole.

I wouldn't want Obama visiting me in the hospital either for a photo op.

Cpl.

USMC

1994-1998

[TheImpeacher]

As usual your full of shiy, this was to be a photo OP. Our wounded troops are not his pawns for a photo.You are such an asshole.

[ChrisBennett18]

calm down i do to know shit you cant tell me what i know or dont know obama need promotion and he didnt got any promotion to go and see the damn military he needed to be here fixing the stupid economy when he is destroying it and not fixing it and ruining everyones future and financing

[DawnsAssassin]

Hell yeah he does, I am a Marine and just the fact that he cares makes us feel like what we are doing is right and that we're getting support. You don't know shit because you are not in service

[NJsoldier25]

haha . no one came to visit me when i was in landstuhl. not even my COC